Odds & Ends Around the Valley

And She Smells Bad, Too

Rocky Rosenkrantz is such an ugly dog that her vet offered to do plastic surgery on her, but her owners refused. Recently Rocky, a pug, was named the ugliest dog in Calabasas in a lighthearted contest sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce.

In an attempt to be fair to all the other ugly dogs in Calabasas, it must be noted that 5 1/2-year-old Rocky was the only contestant. “I was worried about this bulldog in our neighborhood. He needs braces, but fortunately his owners weren’t aware of the contest,” said owner Bunny Rosenkrantz.

“Rocky was the runt of the litter so she’s particularly dead looking,” Rosenkrantz said matter of factly. “She was much uglier as a puppy--she looked like a rat. But my son Josh just fell in love with her, and I figured she had to improve.”

Like beauty, ugliness is more than skin deep. Rocky’s personality and habits contribute to her unattractiveness. “She’s not a cuddly dog. She hurts your legs with her feet when you put her in your lap. And when you let her out in the morning she spends about half an hour scratching herself on a tree,” Rosenkrantz said.

Rocky is also overweight, but Rosenkrantz isn’t complaining about that. “She eats everything. She vacuums the floor in the kitchen so I never have to clean it,” she said. “She’s a working woman’s dream.”

Drought Tolerant or Drought Ignorant?

How has the drought affected the look of Valley yards?

“People are still buying flowers like crazy, flats and flats of them,” said Lillian Greenup, nursery supervisor at Sperling Nursery in Calabasas. “We have always tried to get our customers to use drought-tolerant plants on the hillsides, but it’s been hard to get them to go that way because often those flowers aren’t as showy. Now, though, they’re doing that more, and then they’ll have beds of annuals.”

Several nurseries report that more customers are asking about drought-tolerant plants, although they don’t end up buying them. “I don’t think people consider the drought to be that critical yet,” said Bob Dreisdale, self-described “plant janitor” at Chatsworth Nursery. “They’re crying and moaning about it, but they’re still buying the same way.”

However, Bob Cohen, president of Green Scene in Tarzana--a landscape contractor and lawn-care maintenance company--believes that the drought has prompted people to put off any plans for installing a new lawn. “Our residential installation business is down this year, but we’re doing more business in renovation and chemical care, and a large business in the application of minerals that help soil hold moisture longer,” he said.

According to Cohen, many people don’t realize they already have drought-tolerant lawns. He said Bermuda and Kikuya grass fall in this category, although other types of grasses recommended in this situation are not popular here, because they turn brown in the winter. These include hybrid Bermuda and zoysia grasses.

Lean, But Still Clean

Environmental activist Valarie Schwartz of Woodland Hills has discovered a few extra ways to be kind to Mother Earth and simultaneously reduce her household expenses.

“I began experimenting and found that if I used just a third of the amount of detergent that the manufacturer recommends, my clothes got just as clean,” she said. “And with the dishwasher I started using about half of the detergent they recommend. My glasses are probably cleaner now because they used to have so many suds on them that they weren’t rinsing that well.”

Schwartz is convinced that manufacturers want us to use more of their products than may be actually necessary because, as she said, “The more you use, the more you have to buy.” Her concern is that the more you use, the more containers you’re sending to the landfill.

Her new frugality makes her reminisce about her past. “You remember a time in your life--in college or soon after--when you really had to watch every penny so you cut corners. I used cloth instead of paper towels, or when my shampoo was half gone I’d fill it up with water to stretch it,” she said. “One of the luxuries of having money is that you don’t think in these terms. But really it’s not just a matter of pinching pennies anymore. If you’re not doing these things to save money, then you do them to save the Earth.”

Valley Girl Update

Valley Girl, oh Valley Girl, whither has thou gone?

Well apparently she’s still shopping with her girlfriends on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.

“They come in herds here,” said Jessie Horsting, who works at Outer Limits, a science fiction/fantasy/horror shop that sells posters, T-shirts and more. “Valley Girls always travel with those of their own sex. They don’t shop. They browse. They have yogurt. They speak in code. And it seems like they have a clothing catalogue that the rest of us aren’t privy to.”

Yet those who work on that short stretch of the boulevard disagree about how the Valley Girl is dressed these days.

“The Valley Girl look was kind of prissy: matching shoes and belts in colors or metallics, headbands, leg warmers,” said Laura Michiulis, who works at a hair salon called Studio. Michiulis now notices a trend toward a hippie-biker look. “Batik tops or T-shirts with jeans are definitely in--and especially ripped or torn jeans, like they renovated the punk look. They pay a lot of money to look poor,” she said.

Horsting at Outer Limits sees them wearing very thick socks, oversized T-shirts and very short skirts. “With big hair and a lot of jewelry that rattles,” she added. “Leggings and biker pants are in too. They’ll wear several at a time of different lengths. And sunglasses.”

At Johnny Rocket’s--a hamburger joint--Duffy LaRochelle sees a different Valley Girl. “They’re wearing tight spandex in fluorescent colors or black,” he said. “The outgoing ones wear the flamboyant colors, and the conservative ones wear black. The Valley Girl still exists. Definitely.”

Overheard

“You can’t pick up a newspaper or magazine these days without reading about some cute young female being described as ‘coltish.’ It’s as if every writer in America just discovered that word.”

--Woman to companion

at Art’s Deli in Studio City